Niya Bates, a University of Virginia alumna who has worked at Monticello for several years, appeared on the recent Netflix series, “High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America,” to tell a story in episode three.
On this UVA Speaks podcast, Melissa Goldman, Lab Manager in UVA’s School of Architecture, talks about the Fabrication Labs. The Lab’s mission is to provide an inclusive space where students, staff, and faculty can learn through practice by using the tools and techniques of making, prototyping, and crafting across the different disciplines of architecture. Goldman also speaks about MakerGrounds, a network of UVA shops, labs, and maker spaces across Grounds open to the UVA community and the Milton LandLab, a 172-acre experimental landscape space. Listen in to hear about examples of the small and large-scale products and projects created in these dynamic spaces.
West African architect Francis Kéré, founder of the Berlin-based firm Kéré Architecture, is the 2021 recipient of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture. Kéré received his architectural degree from the Technische Universität in Berlin in 2004, having originally been trained as a carpenter both in his native country of Burkina Faso and in Germany. While still an architecture student, he set up the association Schulbausteine für Gando e.V, later named Kéré Foundation e.V., which loosely translates to “School Building Blocks for Gando,” to fund the construction of a primary school for his hometown of Gando.
After graduating from UVA in 2002 with a degree in biology, she attended a graduate theater program at Columbia University in New York City. She then performed in several off-Broadway shows before moving to Los Angeles, where she landed a number of roles in independent films, voiceovers, and commercials. But then, a funny thing happened. While living in Hollywood, Forjindam – just to make some extra money – took a job working at a company that designed theme parks. Almost instantly, Forjindam – perhaps influenced by her trip to the Magic Kingdom – was hooked.
The University of Virginia Chapel glowed with dancing colors this weekend as a pop-up projection mapping show played on its exterior. This show was the first of five opportunities to see local artist Jeff Dobrow light up some of UVA’s most recognizable buildings. The shows offer students and community members a way to experience art with one another while being masked and physically distant. The energetic pop-up projections blend UVA’s prominent architecture with colorful lights and music. At a time of pandemic (and academic) stress, organizers hope the shows will lift the spirits of those watching or walking by.
The moment had come for Leigh Hassler to remove a painstakingly constructed steam chamber created to surround one of the ornate Carrara marble capitals that adorn UVA’s Pavilion VIII. During the building’s original construction, Thomas Jefferson ordered these capitals from Carrara, Italy – the same source as the recently replaced capitals that front the Rotunda. Hassler and her team were six hours into an intense paint-removal process. A palpable sense of anticipation hung in the air. As the team got down to business, briskly removing the chamber’s box around the capital, steam rose into a crisp, blue fall sky.
